According to media reports, Ahmed Al-Khafaji, a Shiite Member of Parliament, was among 23 killed in a suicide car bombing which ripped through a Baghdad checkpoint.

“Those who use terror, violence and fear against the people of Iraq will fail,”  Mladenov, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq, said in a statement in which he also extended his condolences to the families of those killed in the attack.

“On Wednesday, Iraq and the world are united and will defeat those who seek to destroy the Iraqi state and will, restoring security, prosperity and democracy to this country.”

Violence in Iraq has been peaking in recent months as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) continues its operations throughout the country amid simmering ethnic tensions between Sunnis and Shiites.

The UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) recently reported at least 1,119 Iraqi civilian deaths for the month of September, cautioning that the figure does not include people killed in the ongoing operation in Anbar Province, or those who died from the heat or hunger after being forced to flee violence in their cities.

The worst affected Governorate was Baghdad, where 352 people were killed and 983 injured.

Special Representative for Iraq Nickolay Mladenov. Photo: UNAMI